Vietnam's central bank must report to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on plans to bring commercial bank lending rates down, according to a posting on the government's website.

The bank must accelerate the restructuring of Vietnam's commercial banking system while keeping interest rates and credit growth in line with inflation targets, according to the directive. The State Bank was also instructed to develop measures to resolve the bank industry's bad debts.

High interest rates are impeding consumption and investment demand in Vietnam, the UK-listed Vietnam Property Fund Ltd. said in October.